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meditation.
    She looked a bit different from her photograph, Lucy thought, but no less attractive. Just less glamorous. Her long dark hair was parted in the middle, framing her thin face and large blue eyes. She wore a pale blue tunic with long bell sleeves and gauzy skirt, printed with a blue and white batik design.
    Lucy noticed the same pendant she’d seen in the photograph, a hunk of raw crystal on a chain, hanging from her neck, and a big ring on the middle finger of one hand, a large pink stone set in silver.
    Except for the exotic jewelry, Cassandra Waters’s appearance didn’t give much hint at her profession and she didn’t seem nearly as pushy or enterprising as Edie had portrayed her. At least, not yet, Lucy thought.
    As Lucy and her friends greeted Cassandra, Lucy tried to act as natural as possible and suppress the impulse to treat the woman as if she were visiting from another solar system. Which was difficult, considering all that she’d heard.
    Dana was doing a fine acting job, smiling and extending her hand. Suzanne, however, looked quite curious, even suspicious.
    â€œI think I’ve heard of you, Cassandra. Aren’t you a . . . psychic or something?” Suzanne asked boldly.
    â€œYes, she is and a totally amazing one,” Nora said before Cassandra could answer. “She’s been a great blessing in my life.”
    Cassandra seemed flustered by the compliment, her gaze dipping down a moment. “Thank you, Nora. But I’ve been blessed to be able to help you.”
    Edie stood behind them; she met Lucy’s gaze and rolled her eyes. Can you believe this load of baloney? Lucy could almost hear her say.
    â€œI find it fascinating, questions of clairvoyance and intuition,” Dana said. “I’m a psychologist and I’ve observed these phenomena firsthand. How does the information come to you?” she asked. “Do you see things? Or hear things? Do you use cards?”
    Dana’s tone was curious and even respectful. Though Lucy knew how she really felt.
    If Cassandra Waters felt put on the spot, she didn’t show it. She was used to being interviewed this way, Lucy realized.
    â€œI’m mostly clairvoyant. Meaning, I see visions,” she replied with a small smile. “Though I will say I receive messages in many forms—through spirit voices and dreams, reading tarot cards, even animal messengers.”
    Lucy found the last interesting. She wondered if her dogs had any messages from the “other side” for her. Aside from “I need to go out. ASAP!” and “How about a biscuit?” her fur friends didn’t appear to possess any extrasensory canine perception.
    â€œI wish I could hear voices, to help me sort out the buying clients from the lookie-looks just wasting my time,” Suzanne confessed.
    Cassandra smiled gently. “We all have these powers, if we choose to acknowledge and develop them.” She reached into her shoulder bag, a tapestry fabric sack, and pulled out a handful of her cards. “Here’s some information about my services. Contact me anytime. I’d love to help you with your questions. This is my path, what I’ve been sent here to do. To use my gift to help others.” Her warm voice and gaze were as sincere as any minister who had taken vows. She clearly thought of herself as one. Or wants us to, Lucy thought.
    As they each took a card, Cassandra’s gaze came to rest on Lucy. She smiled down kindly and Lucy felt a bit mesmerized by her startling eyes. “I’d love to do a reading for you, Lucy. There are spirits all around you, eager to communicate.”
    â€œMe?” Lucy’s reply came out in a squeak. She laughed nervously. “What about?”
    As soon as she answered, Lucy realized how silly she sounded. Walked right into that one.
    â€œYour life’s path, your future . . . your relationships.” Cassandra nodded,